Liz Marinello was shot twice in the face Aug. 31, 2006, as she walked to a parking lot in Old Metairie. She died early the next day. She sought a divorce five weeks earlier, and then an annulment after discovering Marinello had not been divorced from his previous wife when they wed, leading her to accuse the former broadcaster of bigamy.

Prosecutors contend that Vince Marinello clad in a disguise, lay in wait to kill his wife, then fled on a bicycle and concocted an alibi of driving to Mississippi to watch football with friends.

Vince Marinello's murder trial begins

Judge Conn Regan of the 24th Judicial District Court in Gretna moved the trial to Lafayette after Marinello's attorneys argued that pre-trial publicity had tainted any possibility of Marinello getting a fair trial.

This morning, 43 Lafayette Parish residents sat in the federal courthouse so that prosecutors and defense attorneys could begin to cull the pool into a panel of 12 jurors and two alternates who will decide the former broadcaster's fate.

"We are trying to place a jury that can give the state of Louisiana and the defendant a fair and impartial trial," Regan told them this morning.

If convicted of second-degree murder as charged, Marinello would spend the rest of his life in prison

Marinello arrived at the courthouse about 8:50 a.m., flanked by his attorneys Paul Fleming and Lee Faulkner. As he entered Courtroom Four on the building's fourth floor, Marinello walked right by his estranged wife's relatives - including her mother, Bertha Norman, and her uncle, Joe Fontenot - who were sitting on benches in the hallway.

They watched him intently, but he never glanced in their direction. No words passed between them.

Norman, who was eager to start proceedings, said, "I just want to get this thing going."

Regan brought the court to order about 9:10 a.m., and introduced himself and his staff, and had the attorneys do so.

Marinello rose from the defense table when motioned by Fleming and turned around to face the audience of potential jurors. He was dressed in a light gray pinstriped suite and blue tie and rested his arms in front of him, one hand over the other. Marinello at first kept his eyes downcast as Faulkner addressed the audience. But he eventually raised his eyes to look at the jury pool.

Voir Dire, Regan explained, is a chance for the attorneys for both sides to question the potential jurors and familiarize them with the concepts of the law. It is the only time during the trial that jurors can directly address the attorneys and ask questions. The evidence is not up for discussion.

Regan warned them about the length of the case.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this case will probably go into next week," the judge said.

The first 16 potential jurors called up for questioning included seven women and nine men. Three were divorced and two were single. The rest were married.

Assistant District Attorney Tommy Block was the first to question to jury pool, asking them whether they recognized Marinello from his days as a sportscaster and talk radio personality. Only one potential juror raised his hand, saying that he had a "brief recognition" of Marinello's face, but called it a distant memory.

Block repeated the warning that Marinello's trial could last at least a week and later asked if any jurors had issues that might prevent them from giving the trial their complete attention. A female student from South Louisiana Community College said she that she'd had a relative die overnight and was
facing final exams next week.

When Block polled the jury pool to see if anyone had an experience with domestic violence, a single mother of three indicated that she had been a victim of abuse and expressed frustration that the criminal justice system still allowed the father of her children visitation despite the allegations. When asked if she could set aside her own experience and judge the case on the facts, the woman said she didn't know if she could.

Block also set out to define certain criminal concepts for the jurors including second-degree murder, specific intent, motive and premeditation. Block explained that that the prosecution doesn't have to prove motive or whether the crime was premeditated.

He said a second-degree murder conviction requires that the prosecution prove a human being was killed when the "offender has the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm."

"That's all the law requires," he said.

The prosecution, Block said, has the burden of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Marinello, he said, "fulfilled his obligation by just showing up."

After a few more questions, the Regan ordered a 15-minute break at about 10:55 a.m., after which the defense is scheduled to take a turn with the jury pool.
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